Geotagging and Geoblogging are increasingly popular techniques for attaching location information to various types of media. Geotagging, sometimes also referred to as Geocoding, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to media such as websites, RSS (“Rich Site Summary”) feeds, or images, typically, in the form of geospatial metadata. However, there are some differences between Geotagging and Geocoding. Generally, Geotagging information associated with a location consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, which also may include altitude, bearing, and place name information. Geocoding, on the other hand, refers to the process of taking non-coordinate based geographical identifiers, such as a postal address, and assigning geographic coordinates to them (or vice versa).
Geotagging media assists system users to find a wide variety of location-specific information. For example, a system user can find images taken near a given location by entering latitude and longitude coordinates into a Geotagging-enabled image search engine. Geotagging-enabled information services also can potentially be used to find location-based news, websites, or other resources.
Geoblogging, in contrast to geotagging, attaches specific geographic location information to blog entries. The geographic location information is typically identified by geotags, which usually consist of latitude and longitude information. Searching a list of blogs and pictures tagged using geotag technology allows system users to select areas of specific interest to them on interactive maps.
Similar to geotagging and geoblogging, the use of “pointing at” technology allows system users to point out spatial objects and features in order to retrieve information related to them stored in a database. This technology is becoming increasingly popular predominantly in domains, such as location-based services (“LBS”) or gaming.
The current generation of handheld devices, such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), include all of the components and sensors required to derive the system user's position and direction of pointing, as well as the modules for wireless communication with information storing databases. These components, together with a three-dimensional representation of the environment in a database, enables the identification of spatial objects or features simply by pointing at them.
Generally, conventional pointing technology methods retrieve information about the object being pointed at; however, there is no two-way communication between the system user and spatial objects. Establishing a bi-directional communication channel between a system user and spatial objects will allow interaction between the system user and the environment, and lead to more efficient and effective use of information and services associated with spatial objects or features in the environment around the system user of a handheld or other device.